Justin Sun’s Liberland has given Vitalik Buterin a medal

Justin Sun’s made-up country Liberland has given Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin a star-shaped medal, “its highest state distinction,” for his technical blockchain achievements. 

The “First Class Order of Merit of the Star of Liberland” was given to Buterin during ETHPrague 2026, where he attended a Network State event sponsored by the micronation. 

Liberland said the medal recognizes Buterin’s “extraordinary technical achievements,” and, “his role in advancing new ideas about how societies can organize themselves.

Additionally, Buterin was praised for the attention he has given to “pop-up cities, decentralized societies, and network states.”

Read more: Justin Sun is now prime minister of Liberland, an entirely made-up country

The medal’s name appears to have been inspired by the Commonwealth’s Order of Merit, a 100-year-old award that recognises the distinguished services of people such as Florence Nightingale. 

Someone who hasn’t received Liberland’s highest distinction is Tron founder Justin Sun. The crypto billionaire was, however, elected prime minister of the region back in October 2024. 

Sun has been re-elected seven times. 

When he first applied for the role, Sun emphasized the need to maintain a strong relationship with the US and boasted about his investments in Trump-linked crypto firm World Liberty Financial (WLFI).

He also praised US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff as an ally.

These statements haven’t aged well, however, as Witkoff’s son and WLFI co-founder, Zach Witkoff, is now claiming that Sun is attempting to “torch” the firm as WLFI and Sun launch lawsuits against each other. 

Read more: WLFI investor offers to help Justin Sun to avoid ‘lengthy litigation’

Protos is also pretty sure that Sun hasn’t set foot in Liberland yet. 

Other than courting crypto execs, Liberland has recently publicised how it wasn’t affected by a 4.1 magnitude earthquake that struck the Donbas region. 

Its president, Vít Jedlička, noted, “Every structure we build in Liberland is designed with events like this in mind.”

These structures include a tent beach bar and a treehouse. 

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